Union

Here is a compilation of quotes by Roberto Assagioli, where he speaks about the primary goals of spiritual psychosynthesis – the union or unity between personal self or “I” and the Transpersonal Self, Higher Self or Soul, and even a union with God or Universal Self.

Some believe that only a relationship between the personal self and soul is possible, however as the reader will see below, Assagioli’s experience and understanding are pointing to a union with Higher Self and even God.

In the last few years the need of a new Yoga has been expressed in many quarters, that is, of a Yoga which would lead to the same eternal goal as the Yoga’s of the past, namely, the conscious union with the One-Self, with the Supreme; but a Yoga, the formulation and the practical methods of which would be suited to the mentality and the needs of modern man and to the conditions existing in our western civilization; a Yoga which would express the spirit of the New Age that is rapidly permeating the minds and souls of the more progressive men and women of today.

I will venture to give a general outline of this Yoga as I see it, and to describe some of the exercises that have proved appropriate and helpful in a series of experiments which I have carried on with some groups of students. (Assagioli in A Practical Contribution to a Modern Yoga)

In psychological terms, one would say that the goal of spiritual synthesis is the union of the personality with the spiritual Self, the first representing the negative feminine pole, the other the positive masculine pole. This polarity is a reality and not just a simple symbolical transposition of a biological fact. It is one of the fundamental aspects of the spirit-matter polarity and is, so to speak, its reflection on the psycho-spiritual level, as sexual polarity is its expression on the physical level. (Assagioli in Psychosynthesis, p. 239)

 “Self-realization, in this specific well-defined sense, means the momentary or more or less temporary identification or blending of the I-consciousness with the spiritual Self, in which the former, which is the reflection of the latter, becomes reunited, blended with the spiritual Self.” (Assagioli in Psychosynthesis, p. 202)

At this point I wish to forestall a possible objection, and eliminate a possible misunderstanding. The fact that we speak of an “ordinary self” and a “higher Self” should not lead us to believe that there are two “selves,” separate and independent, almost two beings within us. The Self, or “I,” in reality and in essence, is one.[13] What we call the “ordinary self” is as much, or as little, of the “higher Self” as the waking consciousness can take in, assimilate and implement at any given moment. It is thus something contingent and changeable: a “variable quantity.” It is a reflection; but one that can become more and more vivid and luminous and may one day come to unite with its Source. (Assagioli in The Mystery of the “I”)

The fundamental polarity between the human personality as a whole and the Transpersonal Self can also be resolved into a unity. This is the aim of a long process of transmutation, involving a protracted series of conflicts, approaches, and contacts, each producing a partial or more expanded fusion: in short, a process of transpersonal psychosynthesis. This constitutes the high effort, the central drama of man, who, either consciously or unconsciously, aspires to this goal, or is pushed toward it by his inability to find lasting satisfaction or a true peace until he has attained it. The phases and methods of such a fusion and synthesis have been described, in a preliminary way, in Psychosynthesis. (Assagioli in The Act of Will, p. 104)

The belief in, or the realisation of, the existence of this spiritual self with its exalted, divine qualities naturally evokes in the personal self a sense of admiration, of awe, of love, and a powerful urge to unite and blend with that Self.

Also in this case there is a corresponding action on the part of the Spiritual Self. While the personal self aspires to achieve union with It, the Spiritual Self, like a powerful magnet, seems actively to draw to Itself, its human reflection. This is expressed in an old oriental text in the following way:

“The word goes forth from soul (spiritual self) to form (personal self): ‘Release thyself from all that stands around) for it has naught for thee, so look to Me. I am the One who builds, sustains and draws thee on and up. Look unto Me with eyes of love, and seek the path which leads from the outer circle to the point. I, at the point, sustain. I at the point attract. I, at the point, direct and choose and dominate. I, at the point love all, drawing them to the centre” (6) (Assagioli in The Mystical Approach)

How can we celebrate the Self?

A. Also here is a paradox. Essentially we cannot celebrate the Self except being the Self, but on the level of relativity, the personal self, the self, the reflection at the personality level, we can well celebrate the Higher Self. So the personal self can celebrate the Higher Self. But when it is united with it there is no more celebration, but as a means to approach it, to rise towards it, celebration is very useful to proclaim and celebrate the Self. (Assagioli in Talks on the Self)

The essential task of psychosynthesis is the discovery of our profound Being, of the Center of ourselves. This task must be understood in two senses: first, as the discovery of the spiritual element in a universal sense, distinct and superior to all the particular purely “psychological” elements; second, as a discovery of one’s own individual Center, of one’s own specific spiritual “note”, of our “internal vocation”, which is something different from the practical and professional one. These discoveries require a special work, different from analytical introspection; it is an act of recollection, meditation and deepening, in which all the elements in which our true being is lost and forgotten are gradually put aside: the sensational sensations of the body, the wide and varied range of emotions and of feelings, the swarming and tangle of thoughts, up, to create the internal silence and in this we consciously unite with our simple, radiant Spiritual Essence.

In this intimate Center, which is our truest and best self, we can draw the light and strength necessary to endure, without being overwhelmed, the severe pains that sometimes shake and seem to dissolve our personality, to resist attacks, to get up from the falls and resume the Way with new vigor.

This is possible because that inner Center puts us in contact with the mystery that surrounds us, with the Great Realities, with the Supreme Being in whom we live, move and are, and from Whom we can draw all the strength, the help, the love that we are worthy and capable of containing.

From this inner peak, with the light that descends to illuminate the other regions of the psyche, with the inexhaustible strength that we draw from it, the concrete work of knowledge, balance and synthesis of the personality can be accomplished.

(Assagioli in Psychology and the art of living)

The Orientals, and particularly the Indians, have definitely turned their interest, aspiration and efforts toward the conquest of the inner world, toward the discipline of psychological faculties, and toward the awakening and development of spiritual consciousness. It is natural, therefore, that they have become masters in those arts and have much to offer and teach. If we refused to examine the fruits of their efforts and victories without preconceived notions, we would display unwarranted pride and deplorable narrow-mindedness.

On the other hand, as much as Western civilization has been increasingly oriented toward the conquest of the external world, there has certainly been no lack of individuals or groups in it who have striven with all their might toward the attainment of the mastery of their own inner forces, toward spiritual perfection, toward union with the Supreme. In antiquity there were the initiations into the mysteries, the Pythagorean and Stoic disciplines; and then Christianity gave rise to a rich harvest of ascetic and mystical endeavors that have taken the most diverse forms over the centuries. Recently, numerous movements have arisen and have developed widely — especially in England and America, — some of them with spiritual tendencies, others of a purely practical nature aimed at using psychological faculties and energies for purely utilitarian purposes.

Of course, we will not be able to examine all these movements, but will have to limit ourselves to some of the most typical ones.

Thus for the East — where we have the many methods of the various schools — Brahmanic, southern and northern Buddhist, ancient and modern, Taoist, etc., — we shall only speak of Yoga, as expounded to us by Patanjali in his terse aphorisms (Yoga Sutras).

Let us first realize well the meaning of the word yoga. It is derived from the root yug, which means “to unite, to join.” It therefore means primarily “conjunction, union with Spirit,” but it also has the meaning of subjection or mastery of psychic forces. Our word “yoke” comes from the same root, yug. (Assagioli in Thoughts on Raja Yoga)

YOGA derives from the root yug, which means to join, to unite, and therefore can be translated as the science of union – union between the human and the divine, between individual and universal consciousness, between the psyche and the Spirit.

The root yug also means union in the sense of domination, yoke, and therefore Yoga can also mean domination, discipline, the “yoking” of the lower elements of human nature by the higher ones and the transmutation of one into the other.

The methods by which this Yoga is carried out are different in nature, and according to those used, various types of Yoga have been distinguished.

The main ones are: Hatha Yoga, which uses physical means, such as certain body positions, special breathing exercises, etc. Karma Yoga, or Yoga of action, which teaches us to free ourselves from earthly ties and to achieve union with the Supreme through right activity in the world carried out with disinterest and inner detachment, through the perfect fulfillment of one’s duties, of those which are called the “duties of one’s state” – what Indians call “following one’s own dharma”.[2]

Bhakti Yoga, or the Yoga of devotion to the Supreme Being, corresponds to the mystical way of every religion. Jnana Yoga, or the Yoga of wisdom, following which union is achieved with transcendental knowledge, enlightenment, obtained through the awakening of an organ of supra-rational knowledge: spiritual intuition.

All these Yoga methods are brought together and synthesized in Raja Yoga, or royal Yoga, which has been called the Royal Science of the Soul, and which is precisely that which is presented in the aphorisms translated here. (Assagioli in An Introduction to Yoga Sutras)

To conclude with a quick overview the exposition of the principles and methods of psychosynthesis made in this Course, let us recall that psychosynthesis, in its broadest and most inclusive sense, is the result of the concurrent action of two forces, two agents, two internal centers: one personal and conscious, the other spiritual and superconscious.

The former manifests itself above all as a conscious, resolute and tenacious will, directed relentlessly toward the goal; a will that unceasingly works to master the areas of the unconscious, to bring the rebellious and conflicting elements of the soul under firm discipline; a will that settles disagreements, that dissolves complexes, that liberates repressed energies; that transforms, elevates, and utilizes the instinctive, passionate, emotional forces in the best way; a will that decisively directs desires and aspirations upward, awakens spiritual energies, and removes obstacles to the action of the Spirit.

The second force is the Spiritual “I” or Self, the highest and truest Center of our being, which does the work, which completes and perfects what the will has begun. It acts subtly, often unnoticed, from within and from the depths. Actually, not infrequently it happens that the more effectively it works the more we personally feel arid, powerless, or shrouded in darkness. This is because the Spirit must first and foremost dissolve hardness, harshness, and resistance in us; it must burn away impurities and painstakingly transmute lower energies. This work necessarily involves the calling up and employment of negative forces, but this inevitable action of the Spirit alternates with the positive action of regeneration and synthesis.

Spirit by its very nature is above all dualism, all conflict; it is Unity. Where It is present and at work, It renews, coordinates, harmonizes, unifies.

Let us therefore rely with faith on the action of the Spirit; let us open the doors of our souls to It — let us aspire to unite, to merge with It as much as possible, so as to consciously and effectively become what we are in essence: that is, one Being, one Life. Thus we will move from multiplicity, from dispersion, from the wearisome travail of conflicting forces, to peace, to inner harmony, to fruitful cooperation of all our energies, to victorious and joyful psychosynthesis. (Assagioli in Spiritual Psychosynthesis)

“The Transpersonal Self of each is in intimate union with the Transpersonal Self of all other individuals, however unconscious they may be of this. All Transpersonal Selves can be considered as ’points’ within the Universal Self.”  (Assagioli in The Act of Will , 1974, p. 260)

Thus we have the paradoxical situation of the personal self denying its “father”, its origin and source. It can also be called the paradox of duality and unity. This is the deep meaning of the old injunction: “Become what you are”. It could be expressed in modern terms as “Recognise your source, your origin, the spiritual Self, and  unite in consciousness  as much as possible with It until you achieve an increasing realisation of this identity, until it becomes permanent.” This is the drama of man’s existential situation, the meaning and purpose of human evolution.” (Roberto Assagioli in: A dialogue with Assagioli)

In order to achieve self-realization: “What has to be achieved is to expand the personal consciousness into that of the Self; to reach up, following the thread or ray (see diagram II) to the star; to unite the lower with the higher Self.” (Assagioli in: Psychosynthesis, p. 24 (see more in this source)

“The inner experience of the spiritual Self, and its intimate association with and penetration of the personal self, gives to those who have it a sense of greatness and internal expansion, the conviction of participating in some way in the divine nature. In the religious tradition and spiritual doctrines of every epoch one finds numerous attestations on this subject some of them expressed in daring terms. In the Bible there is the explicit sentence “I have said, Ye are gods ; and all of you are children of the  most High.” St. Augustine declares: “When the soul loves something it becomes like unto it; if it should love terrestrial things it becomes terrestrial, but if it should love God (we may ask) does it not become God?”

The most extreme expression of the identity of the human spirit in its pure and real essence with the Supreme Spirit is contained in the central teaching of the Vedanta philosophy: “Tat Twarn Asi” (Thou art That) and “Aham  evam param Brahman” (In truth I am the Supreme Brahman).
In whatever way one may conceive the relationship between the individual Self and the universal Self, be they regarded as identical or similar, distinct or united, it is most important to recognize clearly, and to retain ever present in theory and in practice, the difference that exists between the Self in its essential nature—that which has been called the “Fount,” the “Center,” the “deeper Being,” the “Apex” of ourselves—and the small ordinary personality, the little “self” or ego, of which we are normally conscious. The disregard of this vital distinction leads to absurd and dangerous consequences.” (Assagioli in, Self-realization and Psychological Disturbances )

When the personal ego is freed from identifications with particular elements and activities (sensations, emotions, impulses, thoughts…) and from attachments to them, man recognizes his essential identity with the other selves, an underlying unity and spontaneous communion.

There are no watertight compartments in the universe. There are in ships, and they are most useful, but in the universe and in becoming there is nothing absolute. There are varying degrees of communication and communicability; infinite, wonderful intercommunications in this living universe of which we are a part.

Relationships with nature and the universe are complex and mysterious, and they raise the most difficult questions about the origin, meaning, and purpose of life. These form the perennial subject of philosophical meditations, spiritual longings, and religious faiths.

The mystery, that materialistic society and intellectualistic presumption believed it had banished, permeates everything around us; we find it as much in the blade of grass as in the wandering comet, and above all within ourselves.

There is a growing relationship of love and union between all levels, from the lowest to the highest. Fraternity — all things and all beings children of the same Father, emanations of the same Principle — is one of the essential notes of spiritual love. To things, elements and subhuman beings in general we owe a great debt of gratitude, that is generally not recognized and not felt. Therefore, we also owe to animals, our “lesser brothers”, the love that was so keenly felt, for example, by the Buddha and St. Francis.

Towards our closest brothers and sisters, those who are more or less on the same level as us, who struggle, who suffer and who proceed at our side, our love takes on a character of deep communion, of intimate brotherhood.

This fraternal friendship, based on the Ciceronian unum velle et unum nolle,[1] should be continuously expressed in a free and reciprocal exchange of aid, in a mutual support in the rough steps of the path that leads to the summits.

Towards higher beings, our cooperation consists in invoking. Invocation is a synthesis of meditation, prayer and affirmation. Its function is to create a channel of inflow and then call the Higher Beings, to make possible the projection of light, love and power down to the levels where human personalities live.

(By Roberto Assagioli from The Spiritual Path. From the Assagioli Archive in Florence. Original title: Il Cammino Spirituale, translated by Jan Kuniholm and Francesco Viglienghi)

In the West almost all Christian doctrine is based on detachment. The Stoics (Seneca, Epictetus, etc.) also talked about it. One great mystic and thinker wrote, “detachment is best, for it purifies the soul, purges the conscience, kindles the heart, awakens the spirit, quickens the desire, makes us know God; it distances us from every created thing and reunited the soul us with God.”[6] “True detachment requires that the Spirit remains still in all events, whether of joy or sorrow, honor, shame, or disgrace, as a rocky mountain stands unmoved by raging winds.” [7] “A Master says, ‘that the Spirit of him who stands detached is of such power that what he intuits is true, what he desires he obtains, and in what he commands he is obeyed.’”[8]  (Assagioli in Exploration of the Unconscious)

A human being, in his present stage of evolution, is not a harmonious and coherent unity. He is made up of a mass of heterogeneous and contrasting elements grouped around different centers that are found at different levels relatively independent of each other. For the purpose of this article we need not investigate the more subtle distinctions between these elements and centers. It is enough to remember that they can be divided into two great groups. Those that compose the ordinary human personality and those that constitute the superior individuality, the Soul properly so called. Now, while the ordinary joys and pleasures are felt by the personality, Spiritual Joy is the property of the individuality. The ordinary man lives inclosed in his own personality and ignores even the existence of the superior elements. On the other hand in “the perfectly awakened one”, in the liberated Spirit, in the soul completely and permanently united with God, the personality is dissolved and its elements regenerated and transfused into the individuality so that the whole being is unified.

The man who finds himself in an intermediate state, in whom the Spiritual consciousness is awakened but who still retains many elements of the ordinary man, has a more or less conscious duality of feeling and reaction. Thus we can understand how it often happens that while the personality mechanically suffers, the individuality exults in the Light of the Spirit. (Assagioli in Spiritual Joy)

We will now turn to the relationship between the conscious ‘I’ and what it can receive or pick up from the superconscious. This ability to receive ‘from above’ may be called vertical telepathy in order to distinguish it from horizontal telepathy, which refers to signals outside the subject, emanating from the currents of individual and collective thought, reaching that person horizontally through the atmosphere. We might also call it internal telepathy because it goes on within a single individual.

However, we need to give a warning here: it is very difficult to distinguish what comes from the individual superconscious and what comes from even higher spheres or from the levels of the superconscious outside the individual. The higher one ascends, the more the limits of individuality tend to disappear; the higher one ascends, the more the individual becomes united with the whole.

Thus any description or terminology can only be relative or indicative. Language is always symbolic and allusive in nature, and this is even more so in the psycho-spiritual realm. (Assagioli in Transpersonal Development, p. 75)

Indeed spirit and matter, which appear to be ‘enemies’, in relative terms, can and must be united harmoniously in a dynamic synthesis, in the unity of life itself. (Assagioli in Transpersonal Development, p. 224)

What characterizes true, healthy spiritual development in its pure form is a sense of the unity of life, and a sense of the relationship between individual spirit and the universal Spirit. It is overcoming what has been called ‘the heresy of separation’ . Spirit is unity and universality.

Once this is realized, one will have a new attitude of dependency and obedience towards the Divine Being, very different from the attitude of primitive people. No longer is it a separate, external dependence and obedience, but now it is something within, obedience to the God within, to the Spirit inside us. It is a response of our personality to the deep Spirit, which it recognizes as itself, as its true essence.

This spiritual attitude has been clearly expressed in the Christian statement ‘Thy will be done.’ This attitude must be correctly understood, however. It should not be regarded as dualist, implying a sad, passive resignation, but as unitarian in the sense of the joyful compliance and identification of one’s personal will with the Universal Will.

Above all else this unity gives us a sense of security, joy, bliss and peace.

I will mention in passing that a survey was carried out in America to discover people’s favourite verse from Dante. This was found to be the line ‘In His will is our Peace.’ It is in the context of this unity that the various powers of the soul are renewed and developed. These are indeed powers that can affect the world and people around us, but they are benevolent powers: rather than enslaving, they arouse, attract and awaken energies, and bring about good. We then feel ourselves to be willing, conscious coworkers in the wonderful divine plan which we now begin to understand in its beauty and goodness. We thus identify ourselves with the will of God . It is in this way that we maintain our own highest individual dignity, but free from any sense of pride or ambition. Instead it is in perfect union with other spirits united in the One Spirit.

How is this state reached? How is this spiritual power awakened?

The methods are the same as for any spiritual attainment: silence, contemplation, quietness and obedience of the personality, aspiration and inner communion, and then affirmation, a continuous reaffirmation that helps us to be released from our personality and from the external world.

Once this is achieved, when spiritual power has been aroused, nothing else is required, because afterwards the spiritual power will function on its own. (Assagioli in Transpersonal Development, p. 268)

Finally, there is love of God, or whatever designation may be preferred to represent Universal Being or Beingness: The Supreme Value, Cosmic Mind, Supreme Reality, both transcendent and immanent.

A sense of awe, wonder, admiration, and worship, accompanied by the urge to unite with that  Reality, is innate in man. Present in every age and every country, it has given birth to the many varieties of religious and spiritual traditions and forms of worship, according to prevailing cultural and psychological conditions. It reaches its flowering in the mystics who attain the lived experience of union through love. (Assagioli in The Act of Will, p. 94)